The Truth
by Dune
Summary: The truth is a three edged sword, things are never what they seem to be.
1. The Doctor

_Okay, another one from me, came up with this on one of those long, boring days with absolutely nothing else to do. Don't know if it even works the way I want it to, but we'll see. _

_Thanks to glinda penguin for betaing. Hope you like. No real spoilers if you don't count the fact that Jack's in it. Set after The Doctor Dances, before Boom Town _

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_The truth is a three-edged sword.  
Your side, their side, and the truth.  
_- Vorlon ambassador Kosh

---

Something dark moved at the periphery of his vision, a flurry of leather, then he found himself being thrown hard against the wood of the police box.

The impact made him exhale sharply, only now becoming aware of the Doctor's furious stare.

Oh.

He had forgotten that he didn't need Rose to wake up to be killed slowly and horribly. A raging Time Lord seemed to be happy to oblige. Pinning him with an unearthly strength against the TARDIS, his voice was almost a growl

"One good reason not to kill you here and now, Captain."

_---  
10 minutes earlier  
---_

The search at the local market had lead to nothing, Rose was still missing.

He kicked a stone lying on the dusty street, making his way back to the TARDIS, hoping the Captain had had better luck.

He seriously doubted it though, it had been his fault Rose was missing in the first place. Somehow he didn't think the conman would ever turn up again.

On a planet like New Pangaea (which the man himself had suggested) there were plenty of reasons for that.

A small interdimensional spaceport to hitch a lift for one thing. The cheap local drinks were obviously just a bonus to that.

He might have even conned himself a new time ship already, the flirting human could be anywhen by now.

Leaving him behind to search for the missing Rose.

He played their conversation over in his mind, trying to decide if he had been tricked since the moment the Time Agent had come back running (and alone of course), practically kicking the TARDIS door for the Time Lord to open.

If his concern had been fake he had to admit the human was good. But still. He didn't trust the guy. It was too perfect, too clean.

_"I turned around and she was gone" _sure. An exit worthy of a con man.

He had probably left her alone on purpose, one last try if he could steal the TARDIS for himself while its true owner was out to find his companion.

All while exclaiming to check the local space port first. Right. Just in case his old girl would refuse to fly for thehuman like he knew she would. Stupid ape.

Rose was probably back at the TARDIS by now, all confused why the Captain had suddenly left her alone in the marketplace without saying a word.

New Pangaea was harmless enough, _had been_ harmless enough, Rose should be fine on her own, but that didn't stop him from worrying.

So, having run out of options he had decided to return to the TARDIS after all, which was currently huddling against the city wall just inside of the main desert gates.

The small lanes snaking between the sandy buildings would lead him there in no time. Once there he would try another scan for her, although between all the human descendant natives this could take a while.

But perhaps Rose had found her way home already, finally seeing the ex-Time Agent for what he really was (besides numerous alien curses the mildest word he could find was 'bastard') and off they went, just the two of them again.

He had supposed the Captain had more style than leave them on a lie. The universe had the strange habit to let every life form meet at least twice. Hadn't he learned anything at the Agency? Angering a Time Lord was definetlynot a very clever thing to do. Stupid human.

When he finally turned into the last street separating him from the blue box he let out a small sigh of relief, he could hear Rose's voice already.

So she was back, seemingly with the Captain after all, whose commanding tone let him fasten his pace.

He turned on the last corner to see the two humans standing right in front of the TARDIS, seemingly only waiting for him in front of the closed doors.

But something was wrong.

The next moment he realized what, the Time Agent was aiming his gun at a crying Rose.

Anger started to build inside his chest, threatening to break free but he pushed it down, staying behind the last wall, watching the scene playing out in front of him.

His appearance would make things worse. Waiting for the right moment. Or an explanation.

The voice of the man was a commanding sneer, he was almost yelling.

"There's no time Rose, now get out of your clothes."

The girl was actually pleading with her red eyes, but the Time Agent didn't waver.

"NOW!"

He saw Rose flinch, tears streaming down her face, but she obeyed. Defeated she sat down, undoing her shoelaces.

"Don't play for time, come on! Lets get this over with." the cold voice made her look up at the man standing above her.

"Jack, please... I'm sure the Doctor will-" he cut her off, a cold smile crossing his face.

"The Doctor's not here, is he?"

He moved down, yanked her top over her head, pulling at her trousers next, not even caring where he threw her clothes, not even considering the shivering female in front of him.

Hastily getting her to sit in the desert sand in just her underwear, a predatory smile played around his lips.

"Always wanted to do that. Now give me your arm."

The Doctors fists clenched and unclenched until he could feel nothing except the pain building up in his palms, cold anger slowly surfacing, refusing to be smothered by reasonable explanations.

He couldn't think of any anymore.

How could he ever allow this man on board? He had seen what he was capable of in 1941, why didn't he just leave him to die like he had deserved?

Oh, he knew the answer. Because of Rose.

_Rose_ who had insisted they were responsible for him, Rose who was struggling against the grip of the Time Agent, Rose who was given an injection by him just now, Rose whose struggle died down, Rose lying there unconscious.

He had seen enough.

The Captain would pay for this, even more for the kiss he pressed against the lips of her unmoving form now.

Taking advantage of his companion, of _Rose_, the first time he let him out of his sight, probably preparing to sell her to the highest bidder or worse.

He bolted forwards when he noticed the human was taking off his coat, never lifting his eyes from the unconscious female, a dark smile still on his lips.

This wouldn't go any further.

Anger was taking control, moving with an unearthly speed he had the Time Agent against the wall of the TARDIS before the Agent even understood what was happening.

The human was fidgeting under his grip, only the urge to understand why, _why_ he misused the little piece of trust he had given him, the trust that _Rose_ had given him, stopped the Time Lord from snapping the spine of the human at once.

He was the oncoming storm, he had killed entire races, knew that it was necessary sometimes, but this one was hurting Rose.

_Rose._ The person this unworthy scum owed his life to.

He thought of all the questions running through his head, the anger, the hurt, pure fury finally melting into the only sentence he could get out through the thick lump of emotions in his throat.

"One good reason not to kill you here and now, Captain."

---


	2. Rose

_Something dark moved at the periphery of his vision, a flurry of leather, then he found himself being thrown hard against the wood of the police box. _

_The impact made him exhale sharply, only now becoming aware of the Doctor's furious stare._

_Oh._

_He had forgotten that he didn't need Rose to wake up to be killed slowly and horribly. A raging Time Lord seemed to be happy to oblige. Pinning him with an unearthly strength against the TARDIS, his voice was almost a growl_

_"One good reason not to kill you here and now, Captain."_

_---  
10 minutes earlier  
---_

She swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears at bay.

He couldn't do that to her, he just couldn't.

She felt like she was watching herself from a distance, going through the motions, pleading at Jack, who was currently pacing up and down in front of the TARDIS, raking his hair, obviously desperate.

It had to be bad when the guy who conned for a living dropped all pretence.

"Jack, lets just wait for the Doctor, he'll know what to do."

It had all been her fault, really. Why would she always get interested in the wrong aliens? Why were the wrong aliens always interested in her?

Those carp-headed guys had seemed friendly enough, their greyish scales a nice diversion from the uniformly pink skinned (and tight lipped) natives of this planet she had forgotten the name of already.

She let out a sigh, hoping to chase away the smell of hay that was still lingering in her nose. The damsel in distress, it was, as so many times before with the Doctor, her fault they found themselves in this situation.

"Look, let's at least go inside, I'm sure there's something we could use around in there."

But the Time Agent shook his head, without stopping to pace. He looked pale, his RAF uniform suddenly seeming several sizes too big for him. She didn't know if it was because of what had happened or if he was just tired.

He looked up andjudging by his smile he had decided something.

"I know exactly what to do, Rose."

He pulled out the syringe thing he had shown her earlier. Oh no, he would not do that, he would seriously not.

She was not letting him.

She grabbed his arm, making him stop the pacing, trying to talk sense into him, although she couldn't hide her fear.

"No, Jack, listen, don't do this. It was my fault after all. The Doctor might need you."

Jack smiled for a brief moment, put her hands on her cheeks, wiping tears away with his thumbs. She hadn't even noticed she had begun to cry.

"It's okay. Besides, I owe you one."

His face turned suddenly cold, the warmness from just seconds before gone, replaced by something determined.

"Undress."

He couldn't totally suppress the smirk that followed. Her questioning look made him sigh and mutter something about contamination, but she understood. The stench was still in her clothes.

She didn't want it to end this way. She shook her head, she would refuse to do this. Couldn't leave him behind. Dug her fingers deeper into his arms.

He pushed her out of his arms effortlessly, made her stumble and almost land on the dusty floor. When she looked up she saw that he had pulled out his gun.

"There's no time left Rose, now get out of your clothes."

No, he couldn't do this, it had been her fault, he shouldn't pay for her fault. No one should. She couldn't take it, not again. The cry of a Reaper tip-toed through her memory. It was her fault and others paid the price. Others died.

She could have sworn she saw compassion flicker through his eyes, before the soldier in him took over again. Her tears flowed freely now.

"NOW!"

she flinched from his yell. She had never seen him that way. For a moment she wondered if that had been the Jack Harkness in those years as an Agent. She was glad she never met him then.

The Doctor had to turn up any minute now, he would think of something, make this entire scene unnecessary. She moved down slowly, sitting on the ground, beginning to fiddle with her shoes.

"Don't play for time, come on! Lets get this over with."

the cold voice made her look up at the man standing above her "Jack, please... I'm sure the Doctor will..."  
he cut her off, a warm smile suddenly springing out of nowhere "The Doctor's not here, is he?" his voice had almost lost its edge again. Almost.

He kneeled down besides her, his shaking hands helping her undress when her numb fingers refused to. Threw the clothes away as far as he could and a moment later she could smell the fresh, dry air around her.

He waggled his eyebrows. "Always wanted to do that."

If the situation hadn't been what it was, she would have giggled. Or died out of shame. She wasn't sure.

She was pulled back into reality when he gently grabbed her upper arm, pointing the syringe at it.

"Now give me your arm." His voice was soft again, lulling her to comply.

He couldn't do that.

She tried to wrestle free, wanted to convince him that it had to be him instead of her, trying to tell him that the Doctor would find another way, but she heard a small hiss when the chemical entered her bloodstream.

Warmth spread through her veins, her eyelids suddenly grew heavy. Her head felt unbelievably light, her arms refused to obey her anymore. She stopped struggling, numbly sinking backwards, slowly drifting off into sleep.

The last thing she felt was how strong arms caught her and laid her gently onto the sandy floor.

Then darkness embraced her.


	3. Jack

_Something dark moved at the periphery of his vision, a flurry of leather, then he found himself being thrown hard against the wood of the police box. _

_The impact made him exhale sharply, only now becoming aware of the Doctor's furious stare. Oh.  
He had forgotten that he didn't need Rose to wake up to be killed slowly and horribly. A raging Time Lord seemed to be happy to oblige. Pinning him with an unearthly strength against the TARDIS, his voice was almost a growl_

_"One good reason not to kill you here and now, Captain."_

_---  
10 minutes earlier  
---_

This was bad. This was very bad.

A calm, nice day on a desert planet far away from any kind of danger.

Spare parts to keep the Time Lord happy and a nice harmless city to explore for the girl.

Jack had of course made sure he stayed with said girl to a) to deepen their connection (completely platonic... for now) and b) just in case the Time Lord decided to depart without bothering to wait for him.

What could possibly go wrong? Sure. Famous Harkness luck. He should have known.

He pulled Rose around another corner into another small alley.

They didn't have much time left, but they both had to catch their breaths.

They had lost the Flinks a while ago, but in this labyrinth of small alleys and dead ends he wanted to be sure.

There wasn't any room for mistakes. Literally.

They had to get to the Doctor. Fast. Or it wouldn't matter that he had been able to get Rose out of a Flink transport ship at all. Even though he was quite proud to have pulled that off.

He coughed, as did the girl currently pushed against a sandy wall in front of him, trying to stay as much in the shadows as it was possible in this far too hot desert.

He saw the question in her eyes as soon as he was able to look up again, taking in deep breaths, willing his heart to slow down.

They couldn't afford to panic now, that would be fatal. He needed her functioning. At least her feet.

Best way to do that was to keep her busy, keeping her mind from thinking it over. So he took her hand, peeked out twice to see they weren't followed and fell into a jog again, pulling her along.

Told her casually that the carp-headed aliens had tried to get her into a zoo, how he had found her using his irresistible talents. And bribing of course.

"Why me and not you?"

he picked up speed, grinning back at her, feigning hurt.

"Seems like you're prettier than me."

He found himself ranting on, thankful that he hadn't the time to look back at her reactions when he told her that the pinkish smoke in the ship they had just escaped from had been poison gas.

At least for humans. Who would flood his own ship with poison gas, that would be stupid.

Bit his lip when he remembered a senior officer at the mess telling him how he had lost an entire crew to that lovely looking pink fog. Watching as they spat their lungs out.

It left the victim first disoriented, then gasping for air, then faint and then die. In under 20 minutes after the exposition.

Felt a little tug when he dropped that info as casually as he could, not stopping, not turning around, trying hard to keep running although his lungs were on fire.

He was quickly calming her of course, actually pulling the little dermal injector from his Emergency Kit out, stating that she would get the broadband antidote in it or a more specific one from the Doctor, but first they had to reach the time ship.

Just in case the Flinks were still following.

The backyard it had landed in had only one exit, better to defend if necessary. He would think of something there.

Hoped the Doctor could think of something.

The TARDIS had to be around the next corner now, he prayed the Doctor would be there already.

But there was no one.

Harkness luck.

The blue box was there, but the Doctor wasn't. Of course not, that would have been the easy scenario.

The fluffy version where the Time Lord rushed in and saved them in a second with a mere raised eyebrow. Hugs and kisses and a pat on the head for Jack.

He gave the wood panels a hard kick (oh, he would pay for this if the Doctor ever found out) and turned back, to check if Rose was still standing. She was panting, seriously pale, but still awake.

So on to plan B.

Seemed like dying as a hero became a habit since he met those two.

Harkness luck.

He laughed and felt how the world seemed to sway around him. He tried to shake it off, almost losing his balance.

Disorientation.

No time left for waiting. Now just one task was left ahead, get the stubborn girl to play her part.

Something in his look made her frown and he realized his walls were crumbling. He smiled.

"Jack, what's wrong? Lets just inject ourselves with that thing and we'll be fine, right?"

He shook his head, the world swaying on even when he fixed her again. Held up the injector to show her how small it was. Emergency size, not Save The Day Size.

"One dose." and he had already decided who would get it.

Realization crept over her features, then fear, then something he defined as her personal stubborn Rose Tyler face.

Didn't fail to recognize her lips getting a tinge more blue. The stress made her heart speed up, the toxin spreading faster.

So she wouldn't just nod and give him her arm, save her own hide and let him do his hero routine.

Of course not, that would have been the easy way.

Harkness luck.

"No. Jack, lets just wait for the Doctor, he'll know what to do."

For a split second he considered that, hated himself for it instantly because his instincts screamed to inject himself.

He gave his subconscious survival instinct a good mental kick. Seemed like it hadn't been in touch with his conscience for a very long time. Only recently started calling again because of an alien and a 21st century shop girl.

He couldn't do it. Not to her.

He had begun pacing, trying to keep his emotions in check, think of something. There was no other way out.

"Look, let's go inside, I'm sure there's something we could use around in there."

But he shook his head, without stopping to pace. He had considered that already, had seen the TARDIS' med bay. Most advanced med room he'd ever seen, still creeping him out with its clinically whiteness.

But they would be dead before he even figured out in which drawers the scanners were.

"I know exactly what to do, Rose."

Was that fear in her eyes? Why?

Shouldn't she be glad he took the decision from her? She grabbed his arm, making him stop, making him look at her. Pleading.

"No, Jack, listen, don't do this. It was my fault after all. The Doctor might need you."

Sweet girl.

He knew exactly who the Doctor needed. He smiled, wiped the tears out of her face.

"It's okay. Besides, I owe you one."

More than one to be honest. Saving him from a German bomb was only the most obvious one. Stubborn girl.

This had to go down the hard way.

"Undress."

He bit down his smirk. He had always wanted to say that.

The stench was still on her, woven into the fabric, he couldn't risk re-contamination after injection.

Seemed like he learnt something useful in chemistry after all. _'Remove contaminated clothing' _sounded like the thing he would remember of course.

He swallowed hard, rummaging through his feelings, getting the soldier back to the surface.

Authority. That would do the trick.

He pushed her out of his arms, she stumbled and almost fell. When she just blinked at him surprised he pulled out his last ace.

His gun.

"There's no time Rose, now get out of your clothes."

"NOW!" oh, he hadn't known he could still bark orders like that.

Her flinch showed that it had worked. Authority is a (very much drained) Villengard gun.

But the psychology behind it was still in place and she sat down, finally obeying, fumbling on her shoes. Stubborn girl, still hoping there was an easy way out if she just waited for it.

"Don't play for time, come on! Lets get this over with." he moved, came to stand in front of her. Her pleading eyes made his heart break.

"Jack, please... I'm sure the Doctor will..." he cut her off, this was no use.

He knew it was useless to hope for miracles in the field. "The Doctor's not here, is he?"

Help yourself, if you rely on others you're dead. First lesson at the Academy.

His shaking hands helped her out of her clothes, his mind urging him to hurry when breathing got more painful.

So this was it.

An almost naked (and seriously crying) Rose in front of him.

"Always wanted to do that."

Undressing her. Not dying of course. Somehow this wasn't how he had imagined it. But at least he got to do it before his lungs turned into liquid.

No more poison for her to inhale. She should be fine with the dosage now.

She looked like she would break any second, only her stubbornness and the fact that she was biting down hard onto her lip preventing her from doing so.

He smiled, leaned his forehead against hers.

"Now give me your arm." not much time left. His fingers felt numb already. A few more minutes and his hands would be useless.

She struggled, but he noticed her moves were slurred already, no force behind the punches aimed at his chest.

He placed the injector onto the soft flesh, stilled her last struggle, smiling when he saw she was sobbing.

Dying as a hero, dying for a girl. He should have known.

The chemical in the injector had an immediate effect, leaving her unconscious but breathing steadily.

Undressed, lying in the dust of a desert world.

Sentenced to live, without being asked. She would kill him if he survived this after all.

He lost his composure for a second, leant down and gently placed a kiss onto her lips. He whispered "You´re worth it" before he got up again.

Not much time left.

Trying to keep standing on wobbly knees, trying to keep awake as long as possible, the vague hope in the back of his mind that the Time Lord might return after all.

Something dark moved at the periphery of his vision, a flurry of leather, then he found himself being thrown hard against the wood of the police box.

The impact made him exhale sharply, only now becoming aware of the Doctor's furious stare.

Oh.

He had forgotten that he didn't need Rose to wake up to be killed slowly and horribly. A raging Time Lord seemed to be happy to oblige. Pinning him with an unearthly strength against the TARDIS his voice was almost a growl

"One good reason not to kill you here and now, Captain."

_---  
Now  
---_

"Just one... tiny ... reason, Jack." the words were practically spat out, pushing him even stronger into the wood of the police box.

His head felt light, the words of the alien barely reaching him, his ears filled with cotton the world had turned into a silent place.

Being killed by the boyfriend of a girl he flirted with.

Undressed actually. Drugged and undressed.

Now _that_ sounded even more like a proper Jack Harkness Death.

He hoped the Time Lord would hurry, he didn't fancy puking his innards out.

He was gasping, not sure if the Time Lord crushing him had anything to do with that. He gulped in air as much as he could, but nothing useful seemed to stream into his lungs.

He had seen fish thrown onto land by fishermen in Pompeji once, and had the vague feeling he looked exactly like those unfortunate creatures now.

He registered the confused look on his attacker's face, the loosening grip, asking why he smelled like he'd played in hay.

He convulsed, which should have been a laugh had there been enough air. As far as he knew this planet didn't even have meadows. Just drifting dust. True, that had it's own charm, too.

Without the steadying grip of the Time Lord he ungracefully slumped down onto the ground.

The confusion on the Time Lord's face seemed to grow even more, but his eyes refused to focus on the alien, keeping the world blurry.

He thought he wheezed something close to the actual word 'Flink' before his strength left him and he lost his grip on consciousness.

Terrible last words.


	4. Home

_Something dark moved at the periphery of his vision, a flurry of leather, then he found himself being thrown hard against the wood of the police box. _

The impact made him exhale sharply, only now becoming aware of the Doctor's furious stare.

Oh.

He had forgotten that he didn't need Rose to wake up to be killed slowly and horribly. A raging Time Lord seemed to be happy to oblige. Pinning him with an unearthly strength against the TARDIS, his voice was almost a growl

"One good reason not to kill you here and now, Captain."

---

Of course there was no good reason.

Jack wondered how the Doctor had been able to pull him up again, keep him pinned against the TARDIS when every muscle in his body felt like it had snapped.

Still not dead?

He was sure he had fainted just moments ago. The Time Lord must have one or two aces up his sleeve, waking him again to a world of pain.

Those piercing blue eyes pinned him to the wall as strongly as the clutching hands; as if they didn't want to miss a moment of his pain, wanted to watch him squirm when his lungs finally ran out of his mouth.

The Doctor's mouth stretched into something resembling a smile, increasing his certainty that there was no chance in hell he'd help him.

The figure in front of him darkened, morphed into pure shadow, growing fangs of black void, claws made of darkness.

Fear raced through his bloodstream, soon chased by sheer panic. The darkness, the bad wolf had finally caught hold of him. And he couldn't run, couldn't even move. All he could do was stare - helpless, hopeless - into the now truly alien eyes fixed on him, showing no mercy while the shadow beast threatened to devour his soul.

Bright light like the reflection of moonlight on teeth suddenly overloaded all his senses, searing pain making him gasp.

The supporting claws of shadow fell away; the TARDIS behind him vanished, as did the rest of the world. Staring into the cold blue eyes, the only things left in the blinding whiteness, that held him still, and then let go to push him towards death.

He fell.

Falling turned into nothing.

Nothing turned into pain as he slammed into something hard.

It was a fight for balance as he found himself on his feet. Against a wall again. Panting.

Searing pain in his eyes from the blinding whiteness. He tried to concentrate, to access his status, fighting to remember.

Jack. His name was Jack.

And he was dead.

This couldn't be hell, could it?

Blinking, vision gradually becoming clear, he took in what looked like an average med bay... well, maybe hell after all. But his weak and aching body insisted he was still alive.

Although it made no sense.

The shadowy outline of a person came towards him, he felt someone grasp his arm and blinked away the tears of pain just enough to recognize the blonde girl's face.

Rose.

Rose was there, looking at him with those beautiful brown eyes, trying to speak to him, calm him perhaps. That was deduction from her expression though, the roar of his own pulse didn't let him understand a single word.

Not dead?

Rose.

Not dead.

Nightmares?

Rose. He'd saved her. He kept staring at her just to make sure.

His heart finally slowed down, the fear reluctantly leaving his body, replaced by understanding.

She was okay. He was okay.

Apart from the fact that breathing hurt like hell.

TARDIS med bay.

Conclusion turned into fact when he looked up and spotted the dark figure behind the girl. He flinched.

_Dreams, Jack, just dreams. Calm down. Leather, not shadow. _

Still disorientated, the world swam out of focus again. He couldn't keep standing any longer, even if his life depended on it.

As his knees buckled, something dark moved at the periphery of his vision, and he found himself being pinned against the cold wall of the med bay.

Vague memories resurfaced, summoned by the familiarity of this pose, but again he had no strength to fight it. But the hands holding him were gentle this time, supporting. Propping him up as his body tried to slip to the floor. The growl of rage replaced by muttered assurances that he would be okay.

Jack blinked. Was the Doctor actually _helping_ him?

He evaded the Doctor's stare, which seemed to be taking a good long look right down into his soul. He was thinking hard, judging by the wrinkles on his forehead. Jack hated that stare; it always made him feel naked. And not in a good way.

Naked?

He frowned when he looked down at his own body. His very exposed body.

Brushing away tangled cables on his naked arms, he suddenly became very aware of the white hospital gown he was wearing. He shivered, finally registering the coldness of the tiled wall crawling up his (very naked) spine.

He opened his mouth to ask, but a sharp pain in his throat made him choke.

"No chattering, it'll only do more damage to the vocal cords!"

Blue eyes appeared mere inches from his face, making it impossible to look away. But there was compassion there, and that was something he'd never expected.

"Good to have you back, Captain." Somehow the Doctor seemed genuinely relieved.

"Who... ?" That hurt. He decided to stop talking and just gestured at the lack of clothing he was wearing. Tried to at least, but his arm wouldn't move very far; barely managing a twitch, but the Doctor seemed to understand.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, looking equal parts annoyed and amused. The amusement increased when Jack glanced at Rose.

"Don't get your hopes up. _I_ undressed you if you really want to know. Couldn't leave you in that toxic thing of an uniform, could I?"

Jack tried to raise an eyebrow, but even that hurt.

"Annoyed you weren't awake to enjoy it, right?"

Was that a grin? Those were usually reserved for Rose.

So they'd decided not to execute him after that entire undressing Rose business. Although the mischievous grin she was trying to hide indicated that she wasn't too unhappy the Doctor had taken some revenge on him.

He couldn't remember when he'd literally felt naked in front of others before. He had, of course been naked in front of more people than he could count, but he'd never _felt_ naked.

He felt naked now. These two were really not good for him.

The Doctor peeling him out of his uniform? Now that was something he'd fantasised about.

But _this_?

Jack wanted to make a comment about repeating that scenario, but before he could, weakness sent him tumbling forwards into the Doctor's jacket.

He didn't seem to mind, didn't push him back, just held him, let him rest against that wonderful smell of leather.

He sighed. Seemed like they would be fine.

Undressing each other.

He croaked, "Somehow... I had imagined that all a bit... different," before darkness claimed him again.

He didn'' mind this time. The wolf was gone. No running. No danger.

He could sleep now.

---

He caught an unconscious Jack. Again.

A quick smile at Rose had the desired effect; he could see the anxiety leave her body immediately. About time, too. This would've gotten a lot more unhealthy for her if it had gone on much longer, the dark circles under her eyes perfect proof of that.

She had kept herself awake, holding Jack's hand as if it would help somehow. Not that he had told her to stop, feeling useless was the last thing she'd needed.

It had been a close call. And even though he hadn't told her just _how_ close, she'd worried. Felt responsible, just as he did.

What had he been thinking? It wasn't his style to lose so much time over a useless emotion like hate. The single word 'Flink' had conveyed an entire torrent of explanations.

How could he have been so blind? It had very nearly cost Jack his life.

Entering a Flink ship. Stupid, _stupid_ ape.

He dropped Jack back into the bed he'd been so keen to get out of. Nightmares obviously, likely some residue of the chemical mixed with military training.

Stupid ape. Running around with only half his brain awake. Could've hurt Rose or himself, could've undone all the healing he had done already.

And that healing hadn't been easy. Good thing the TARDIS had been prepared when he had carried Jack in, blood already dripping out of his mouth.

He shuddered. Very close call.

Internal tissue regeneration needed time, so sleep was the best medicine now. And the other human on board needed it as much as the one already in bed. He smiled when Rose stifled another yawn.

With some more assuring words, he was finally able to shoo her out of the med bay, off to her room. Not that he hadn't tried to do exactly that before, but it was only now she was willing to believe that Jack would be fine.

Stubborn girl. When was the last time he had met someone who could tell that he was lying so easily? Must've been lifetimes ago.

He waited until she was two corridors away before he tore the entirely useless wires off the unconscious man, finally turning the beeping, yet equally useless, monitors off.

They'd only been there for Rose.

Psychology had demanded the machinery that showed every life sign a twenty-first century hospital would have dreamed of.

Amateurs.

But a silent medical room like he preferred would've given Rose all the wrong ideas.

Humans. So attached to their ideas that they let them loose to grow into fears, certainties and a thousand other nasty things.

He sighed when silence embraced him. Finally some peace. He shot his patient another look to make sure his sleep was sound. No running about until he was completely healed.

Walking into a Flink ship, risking his life for a girl. He had to admit that sounded like a Jack Harkness thing to do.

Quite impressive he got out of there alive, really. But of course he'd never admit that, even if Jack had the arrogance to ask. The human's ego was big enough already, no need to give him more of these suicidal ideas.

Humans and their ideas.

It had actually hurt to watch Jack's fear when he'd pushed him against the wall of the med bay. This time to keep him from falling over, but Jack had fidgeted in his grip nevertheless. Instincts were a tricky thing.

Hurt? He frowned, considering the emotion.

Hadn't he just two days ago been thinking about kicking the conman out on a planet without atmosphere? True, Claisen VII had a marvellous panorama if you lived long enough to admire the view, but...

He shook his head.

Jack was staying. Well, if he wanted to. If he could make him stay after this. He cringed briefly at the thought - he'd never been good at apologies. And trust didn't grow back easily.

Something silvery on one of the cabinets caught his attention and when he took a closer look he had to grin.

His ship was obviously much better at these things than him.

The metal key looked almost identical to the one he had given Rose; it even had a short metal chain attached. He felt the familiar nudge of the TARDIS at the back of his mind, urging him to place it in Jack's hand.

Sentimental girl she was.

Seemed like him and Rose weren't the only ones who liked Jack.

He smiled. They would be fine.

_---  
2 weeks later  
---_

"Jack, let's just wait for the Doctor, he'll know what to do."

Of course the answer to their problem was so trivial even she'd been able to come up with a plan: Get out of the forest they'd fled into and, most importantly, get that green slime off them.

Being covered in jelly that had once been a living thing wasn't Rose's idea of a 'nice and quiet' holiday. Not at all.

Why couldn't they just _once_ meet an alien that had absolutely no interest in them? Or didn't explode when it was shot?

"I know exactly what to do, Rose," Jack's smile very nearly split his face. "Undress."

As if he had any right to talk.

A big droplet of slime slowly ran down his cheek while he tried hard not to burst into laughter.

Obviously her reaction to his command must've been quite hilarious. She was sure it had involved staring open mouthed at him.

She scratched her arm, shooting Jack an angry glare. This was clearly not the time for his innuendo, even though she yearned to get out of her soaked clothes.

But not in front of him. Not ever... again.

She realized he wasn't joking when he pointed at her exposed skin while he breathed in deeply, trying to calm down. That mischievous grin didn't leave his face.

Already angry red spots shone wherever the remains of the High Priest of Chlamy had hit her.

Jack was shaking with silent laughter again by now, although his skin didn't look any better.

This was not happening. This was seriously not happening.

"Jack, please... I'm sure the Doctor will..." he cut her off, managing a "The Doctor's not here, is he?" between his fits of laughter.

"This is so not fair." With a thump she sat down, fiddling with her shoelaces.

----

END


End file.
